As if the rain and wind weren’t enough in the wintertime here, the darkness is becoming a bit depressing as well. Only 22 days left until the shortest day of the year but it’s already dark for 2/3 of the day. The sun come up at about 8am, as I’m getting to work and is set around 4pm, before I even think about leaving. At least I’m used to driving in the dark now. The first few times I drove in the dark over here were a little weird because it stays light until about 11pm in the summer, so you don’t get much opportunity for ‘night driving’.
Let’s see – what’s been going on this week? I got more Christmas presents in the mail! My mom has sent 2 boxes over so far, with multiple presents in each. She must feel bad about me not being home for the holidays. It’s just not the same when I know I’m not going to be waking up at my parents’ house with everyone on Christmas morning, you know?
Anyone who has been to my place at Christmas time knows that I have accumulated quite the collection of Christmas decorations, dishes, towels, etc… I miss having all of those to decorate with over here. I’d normally have most of them up by now and I’d be planning my trip to pick out a tree sometime this week/weekend. They aren’t even selling trees here yet. I don’t own any decorations here either, and it’s kind of silly to go spending all of that money on things when I don’t know how long I’m staying or if I’ll get to use them again.
I did get myself a little nativity. It was really inexpensive and the baby Jesus comes out of it. That’s important because in my house baby Jesus doesn’t show up in the manger until Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. I figure I’ll set it on my mantle above the fireplace. I really miss having my Hallmark ornaments here. I didn’t want to risk shipping them or travelling with them because it would break my heart if they were damaged. I’ve gotten one every year since I was born so there’s quite a collection sitting in a box at home. Maybe my mom will take them out and hang them on her tree so they won’t be neglected this year.
On a brighter note, my boss stopped up the other day and seemed pretty pleased with things. I work on-site and so I’m not in the office and don’t report to my boss on a daily basis. I kind of AM the boss, but it doesn’t feel as empowering as I always though it would. Anyhow, I guess my boss ran into the architect/engineer who works here at a dinner last week. The architect was complimenting my organization and communication skills and saying that he was really surprised somebody could get the muddle of projects up here sorted and running smoothly. That made me smile for the better part of the day!
I also ordered a new phone yesterday that I’m waiting to show up in the mail. It’s the Motorola V3 Razr in black. There’s a fairly limited number of phones available with the prepay service I use, but that one seems pretty handy. I’ve always loved my flip-phones so I wanted to stick with that style even though they don’t seem to be as popular over here (and they call them ‘clam shell’ phones). The buttons and ringer on the super cheapo one I got when I moved here are starting to go. I can’t have that because I use it to text a lot and I also use it as an alarm. If the alarm goes I miss work and that wouldn’t be cool…
This weekend is looking like a good deal of Christmas shopping is in my future. I’ve actually got most of my shopping done, but I want to pick up one or two more things and I need a new dress for my company Christmas party. Well, maybe I don’t need one – but I’d like one. I’ve got a 40th birthday party coming up as well, so it will get good use.
Back to work for me. These lunch breaks seem to get shorter and shorter… ;-)
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Can I get giant nightlight over here?
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Santa and SingStar
As for other non-Thanksgiving items, the weekend was a still a busy one. I did a bunch of my cleaning for the dinner and then headed into town to pick Baz up from having a 'pint or two' after work with his brother Anthony. I got to the pub just in time for them to get into a bit of a spat about work and who's better at what and other things you normally hear coming from little children. I was sitting between them at the corner of the bar and it was a bit like watching a tennis game - back and forth, back and forth. As the childish banter got louder I felt like I was transported back in time to what life must have been like for their mother when they were about 10 and 12. Except now they are not 'little' boys by any means and standing well over 6 foot each with not-so-small frames. I had to stop my amusement and extinguish the flame before they started wrestling around the bar and broke something (or someone).
My Saturday was spent cleaning, grocery shopping and baking and doing other various pre-Thanksgiving prep like picking up extra chairs and tables and plates. I also went to check out the Christmas section at Arklow Building Supply to see what they've got for decorations. Santa was there! This may sounds insanely childish, at first but really there was good reason to be excited. Every year since I was born my mom has dragged me to go get my photo done with Santa. First it was me, then it was with Anne, and then the three of us. Every year. If you don't go, you don't get presents.
So I was excited when I found out he was there because it's not like home where you go and stand in line and Santa's in the middle of the mall for all to see. Here, Santa hides out in a little tent and you have to pay €7 to go see him. This doesn't include a photo or anything so it's a good thing mine is surgically attached to me (not really but all of you who know me know what I mean). Anyhow - I don't think Santa minded, as he seemed pretty eager to have me come sit on his lap, and the little elf lady thought it was sweet and took the photo for me. I think I also restored faith in a few small children who must have thought that if an adult like me was going to see Santa he must be real.
That was one of the highlights of my weekend though because even though the three of us aren't in the photo, I should be able to digitally alter it with pics from Anne and Shaine and make it look decent. Plus, my mom will be SO psyched I didn't miss a year just because I was out of the country. It's the first Santa I've met with a brogue. I wonder how little Irish kids feel when they watch The Night Before Christmas and Santa has an American accent? He did give me a cute little stuffed bear to unwrap though.
I ended up going out with the ladies from the Gaelic team Saturday night. My first girls night out over here. It was really a fun time. Noush brought her (other) drinking Jenga game, which nobody else had ever played before and that was good for laughs. Then the SingStar playstation karaoke came out. Wow, was I laughing. I don't know as many real words to Ice, Ice Baby as I though. Our captain hosted the little party and is banned from pouring/making/fixing/giving drinks anymore. She was handing out shots and mixing up liquor cocktails like it was our last night of drinking. Ever.
We eventually made it down to Kitty's for more karaoke (where I found out they're having a 'fancy dress' aka costume party in two weeks!) and Noush and I did a fantastic rendition of Devil Went Down to Georgia (she's from Atlanta) with do-see-does and all. Really fun time and I made it to bed at a decent hour to get up and cook, although I was completely EXHAUSTED all day.
I told you the weekend was busy! It was great to get all of the girls out. Now if I can only get them to all dress up for that fancy dress party... ;-)
My Saturday was spent cleaning, grocery shopping and baking and doing other various pre-Thanksgiving prep like picking up extra chairs and tables and plates. I also went to check out the Christmas section at Arklow Building Supply to see what they've got for decorations. Santa was there! This may sounds insanely childish, at first but really there was good reason to be excited. Every year since I was born my mom has dragged me to go get my photo done with Santa. First it was me, then it was with Anne, and then the three of us. Every year. If you don't go, you don't get presents.
So I was excited when I found out he was there because it's not like home where you go and stand in line and Santa's in the middle of the mall for all to see. Here, Santa hides out in a little tent and you have to pay €7 to go see him. This doesn't include a photo or anything so it's a good thing mine is surgically attached to me (not really but all of you who know me know what I mean). Anyhow - I don't think Santa minded, as he seemed pretty eager to have me come sit on his lap, and the little elf lady thought it was sweet and took the photo for me. I think I also restored faith in a few small children who must have thought that if an adult like me was going to see Santa he must be real.
That was one of the highlights of my weekend though because even though the three of us aren't in the photo, I should be able to digitally alter it with pics from Anne and Shaine and make it look decent. Plus, my mom will be SO psyched I didn't miss a year just because I was out of the country. It's the first Santa I've met with a brogue. I wonder how little Irish kids feel when they watch The Night Before Christmas and Santa has an American accent? He did give me a cute little stuffed bear to unwrap though.
I ended up going out with the ladies from the Gaelic team Saturday night. My first girls night out over here. It was really a fun time. Noush brought her (other) drinking Jenga game, which nobody else had ever played before and that was good for laughs. Then the SingStar playstation karaoke came out. Wow, was I laughing. I don't know as many real words to Ice, Ice Baby as I though. Our captain hosted the little party and is banned from pouring/making/fixing/giving drinks anymore. She was handing out shots and mixing up liquor cocktails like it was our last night of drinking. Ever.
We eventually made it down to Kitty's for more karaoke (where I found out they're having a 'fancy dress' aka costume party in two weeks!) and Noush and I did a fantastic rendition of Devil Went Down to Georgia (she's from Atlanta) with do-see-does and all. Really fun time and I made it to bed at a decent hour to get up and cook, although I was completely EXHAUSTED all day.
I told you the weekend was busy! It was great to get all of the girls out. Now if I can only get them to all dress up for that fancy dress party... ;-)
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thanksgiving Dinner - Irish Style
I've never cooked Thanksgiving Dinner by myself. What made me think that cooking it for 22 people would be a good idea??? Why didn't anybody slap me to try to knock some sense into me? Doing it on a Sunday (yesterday) also left me with no time to recoup. Back to work today!
Actually, the whole thing went over pretty well. Everyone got to try a few dishes that were new to them and I won't have to cook for another week with all of the leftovers. I'm still not entirely sure how I fit that much food into my tony Irish-sized fridge. It was fairly classic Thanksgiving dinner. I had appetizers out to munch on when people got there:
Actually, the whole thing went over pretty well. Everyone got to try a few dishes that were new to them and I won't have to cook for another week with all of the leftovers. I'm still not entirely sure how I fit that much food into my tony Irish-sized fridge. It was fairly classic Thanksgiving dinner. I had appetizers out to munch on when people got there:
- Celery stuffed with cream cheese and Spanish olives
- Cheese platter
- Veggie platter
- Devilled eggs
And then there was the main course:
- Turkey
- Stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Gravy
- Sweet potatoes
- Butternut squash
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Cranberry sauce
- Jello Salad
- Coleslaw
- Dinner rolls
Last but not least - DESSERT!!
- Pumpkin pie
- Apple pie
- Rasberry cheesecake
- Chocolate cake
- Pastry Tower
I think that was it. I like throwing in a few new foods to see how they'll go over. This meal it was the butternut squash (actually labelled an 'exotic vegetable' in one store) which I baked with butter, maple syrup, and nutmeg. The jello salad was new (which most of you wouldn't have had either) and they thought it was SO funny that I served something so sweet WITH the meal. Pumpkin pie was a novelty as well. I actually managed to make it from scratch and not ruin it. This was very important because pumpkins aren't as easy to get over here so I actually brought the canned pumpkin back with me from my trip home.
They fell into the tradition pretty easily too. The guys spent the afternoon watching sports on TV (although it was rugby instead of American Football) and all collapsed on the couch, half passed out afterwards. As much help as I got cleaning up last night, you can only clean up so much when you have that many people in your house so there's a decent amount of cleaning waiting to be done once I get home tonight.
All in all, a good meal and good times. ;-)
They fell into the tradition pretty easily too. The guys spent the afternoon watching sports on TV (although it was rugby instead of American Football) and all collapsed on the couch, half passed out afterwards. As much help as I got cleaning up last night, you can only clean up so much when you have that many people in your house so there's a decent amount of cleaning waiting to be done once I get home tonight.
All in all, a good meal and good times. ;-)
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Here I sit...
...at work, eating my leftover spaghetti and meatballs at 'dinner time' on Thanksgiving. :-( Where's the TURKEY????
My normal Thanksgiving traditions are all out the window this year. I didn't go to the pub last night to meet up with all of my high school friends like I normally do. Granted, every year we sit there and think about how we don't really want to go but what if we miss something (like the prom queen shows up and she's pregnant with triplets and has developed an acute case of adult acne) and then you go and wonder why you ever bothered going in the first place and swear you won't next year (like you swore LAST year).
I was usually pretty good about not drinking much on those nights anyhow because I would inevitably have to get up early the next morning to run the Turkey Trot (okay - so I only ran the 5k, which was more or less considered the 'chicken trot' by the 10k runners) and having a hangover SUCKED. I've lost track of when it all started but I know that this will only be the 3rd one since then that I've missed. The 1st I missed because I was in England for Thanksgiving (that was the year Linda Dayton cooked us a 'make-up Thanksgiving' meal when we all got home) and the other year was when I broke my leg and had my cast removed the day before Thanksgiving. I still went that year - I hobbled around without crutches which was probably more work and more painful than most years running the damn thing!
Next would be the Thanksgiving nap - which my mom would always allow if we ran, even if it meant waiting a bit longer for us to help in the kitchen. Those were always the best naps! Followed by stuffing myself stupid with dinner and falling asleep on the couch with my cousin Alexandra. We usually rent a movie to watch as well, because you can only watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade so many times. I guess I'll just have to wait until Sunday for this year's turkey.
In the meantime, I've got a couple of pics from Blarney last weekend. For those of you who haven't been (most of you, I'm guessing) you'll see that you have to lean upside down and backwards to kiss the thing. The two yellow bars you can see in the pic to the right are all that are keeping me from plummeting to the bottom of a 4 story drop. The weird part was that it didn't even phase me. I think construction may have cured my mild fear of heights. The guy that holds you is really nice and even managed to convince the girl ahead of me that she shouldn't be scared and that he really hasn't ever dropped anybody - she eventually got down and kissed the stone.
My normal Thanksgiving traditions are all out the window this year. I didn't go to the pub last night to meet up with all of my high school friends like I normally do. Granted, every year we sit there and think about how we don't really want to go but what if we miss something (like the prom queen shows up and she's pregnant with triplets and has developed an acute case of adult acne) and then you go and wonder why you ever bothered going in the first place and swear you won't next year (like you swore LAST year).
I was usually pretty good about not drinking much on those nights anyhow because I would inevitably have to get up early the next morning to run the Turkey Trot (okay - so I only ran the 5k, which was more or less considered the 'chicken trot' by the 10k runners) and having a hangover SUCKED. I've lost track of when it all started but I know that this will only be the 3rd one since then that I've missed. The 1st I missed because I was in England for Thanksgiving (that was the year Linda Dayton cooked us a 'make-up Thanksgiving' meal when we all got home) and the other year was when I broke my leg and had my cast removed the day before Thanksgiving. I still went that year - I hobbled around without crutches which was probably more work and more painful than most years running the damn thing!
Next would be the Thanksgiving nap - which my mom would always allow if we ran, even if it meant waiting a bit longer for us to help in the kitchen. Those were always the best naps! Followed by stuffing myself stupid with dinner and falling asleep on the couch with my cousin Alexandra. We usually rent a movie to watch as well, because you can only watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade so many times. I guess I'll just have to wait until Sunday for this year's turkey.
In the meantime, I've got a couple of pics from Blarney last weekend. For those of you who haven't been (most of you, I'm guessing) you'll see that you have to lean upside down and backwards to kiss the thing. The two yellow bars you can see in the pic to the right are all that are keeping me from plummeting to the bottom of a 4 story drop. The weird part was that it didn't even phase me. I think construction may have cured my mild fear of heights. The guy that holds you is really nice and even managed to convince the girl ahead of me that she shouldn't be scared and that he really hasn't ever dropped anybody - she eventually got down and kissed the stone.
Thanks to the winter weather in Ireland, the tourist traffic was pretty low. There was no line to kiss the stone (only the scared girl in front of us) and we could climb all over the place to explore and take photos. The castle is in pretty good shape so you can walk around in what was the kitchen, old bedrooms, entrance hall, etc... The photo at the left is from the top of the castle. It's the watchtower and castle grounds. Very pretty - even in winter. Mother Nature was kind and granted a mild day full of sunshine for my first visit to Blarney. It's another one of my favorite places so far.I think I've rambled on long enough and should probably get back to work. It's like my brain knows it shouldn't be working full tilt today! I hope everyone back home has a very Happy Thanksgiving!! Eat some turkey and have a few drinks for me! ;-)
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Who likes taking photos?
I DO!!! I FINALLY got my pics from the Halloween party burned to a CD to share with you. I have to say my night started off on a creepy note. I was cooking and heard a knock at the french doors and when I pulled the curtain back I found these two staring me in the face on the other side of the glass:
Yeah - just plain creepy. I think one of my favorite costumes was my friend Noush's boyfriend. He dressed up like Borat and looked great, but he also had a great accent to go with it. Unfortunately, I can't post the accent here so a pic of the two of us will have to do:
I was impressed that everyone dressed up. Baz was certain I'd never get people to do it but we had everything from Cowboys & Indians to cats, Vikings, and baseball players:
It was a fun time and I'm on a photo roll, so expect some from Blarney tomorrow.
I'm back to what seems like a normal training schedule. My Gaelic team lost the league semi-finals but we've still got one game left so back to training Tuesday and Thursdays, with soccer on Wednesdays. Ahh... should keep me fit even if it doesn't leave me with much time.
I stopped into the new spa at the new hotel the other night. They gave me the grand tour and I can tell you that I can't WAIT to book an appointment. I'm waiting to get the price menu in the mail before I do anything too crazy. Maybe I'll treat myself to something simple like a manicure or eyebrow wax this weekend. They can't charge anything too crazy for either of those. Besides, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 20-something people on Sunday so I'll probably need a break from prepping on Saturday.
Speaking of dinner - I stopped at the grocery store after training last night to pick up some food, since there is NONE in the house, and found sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. I was so excited. I'd been looking and I think maybe they're starting to stock the cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner - I bought 3 small jars of it. I wasn't sure what to expect but I decided to try my luck since I haven't been able to find the sauce or fresh cranberries to make it. I opened a jar when I got home and it was perfect. A sort of mix between the jelly-like stuff you get in a can and the fresh stuff you'd make at home. One questionable ingredient down, only a few more to go.
I think that if customs had stopped me on the way home they would have brought me in for questioning based on the insane contents of my bags: cans of pumpkin, cherry pie filling, and pumpkin bread mix, to name a few. I can't get those things over here and they HAD to be part of my Thanksgiving dinner so they came back in my suitcase. Can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie!!
I have to say that I'm jealous of all of you who have a half day today and the rest of the week off, but who will be laughing at Christmas time when I get a full week and a half off? Or Easter when I get to relapse into the days of 'spring break'? Especially with Crystal and Kara coming! Watch out 'Girls Gone Wild' - you've got nothing on us!
I also received my first package of Christmas presents, which reminded me that I have to get my ass in gear and wrap and send some so they get to the States in time. It's nice to get presents but it's sad to realize I won't be opening them with my family like I have for the other 27 Christmas Days. :-(
I've also got to get my Christmas cards done, so any of you who have moved in the last year or so or would like to receive a Christmas card from me (I like sending them and don't expect them back - so don't worry about that) - send me the new address. Most of you will be getting an e-mail about it shortly anyhow... 33 days 'til Christmas! ;-)
Monday, November 20, 2006
Started My Monday with a Giggle
My friend Kara made me start my Monday with a giggle when she referenced this site on the death of VHS. What made me giggle was her point that both she and VHS are 30 and VHS is dead. Well, dead to the commercial world, I suppose. I still haven't upgraded my parents to a DVR and therefore all of my favorite shows are recorded on VHS and sent to me via snail-mail. Yes, I know. Very stone age. It works for me though. I'm allowed to spend several hours of my week wasting away catching up on episodes of Bones, House, The O.C., and Prison Break. Seriously - I don't remember any of my fellow Civil students ever looking like that.
I went to Blarney for the weekend and kissed the Blarney Stone. You have to hang upside down to reach it and this guy holds on to you to make sure you don't plummet down the side of the castle and land on other tourists below. I've obviously been working construction heights for a while because the idea of falling between the wall and the stone and plummeting to my death never really occurred to me. Five years ago (before I had to hang off the edge of buildings to plumb steel at work) I probably would have freaked out about it. Yeah for me overcoming a fear of heights. :-)
I love that my sister Anne is such a night owl. We're 8 hours apart now with her living out in California. Anne's always been one for staying up all night and sleeping all day. She'll try to blame it on her night shifts at Denny's but she was like that well before she ever put on a good ol' Denny's uniform. So I wasn't incredibly surprised to get an e-mail from her at noon here. Yep - 3:30am on a Monday where she is. Leave it to Anne. It was good to hear from her anyways and get to chat back and forth a bit.
I should be posting Halloween pics tomorrow. Something is wrong with the CD I have them on and it won't read properly. I'll use a new CD and see if I can't get them up. It's going to be Christmas by the time I get these silly pics up. Better late than never I suppose.
I'm planning my Thanksgiving menu for this coming Sunday if anyone has any good ideas for things to serve. I know Thursday is traditionally on Thursday but that's one of the few days this year I DON'T have off so I'm going to have to improvise. Any help would be appreciated. ;-)
I went to Blarney for the weekend and kissed the Blarney Stone. You have to hang upside down to reach it and this guy holds on to you to make sure you don't plummet down the side of the castle and land on other tourists below. I've obviously been working construction heights for a while because the idea of falling between the wall and the stone and plummeting to my death never really occurred to me. Five years ago (before I had to hang off the edge of buildings to plumb steel at work) I probably would have freaked out about it. Yeah for me overcoming a fear of heights. :-)
I love that my sister Anne is such a night owl. We're 8 hours apart now with her living out in California. Anne's always been one for staying up all night and sleeping all day. She'll try to blame it on her night shifts at Denny's but she was like that well before she ever put on a good ol' Denny's uniform. So I wasn't incredibly surprised to get an e-mail from her at noon here. Yep - 3:30am on a Monday where she is. Leave it to Anne. It was good to hear from her anyways and get to chat back and forth a bit.
I should be posting Halloween pics tomorrow. Something is wrong with the CD I have them on and it won't read properly. I'll use a new CD and see if I can't get them up. It's going to be Christmas by the time I get these silly pics up. Better late than never I suppose.
I'm planning my Thanksgiving menu for this coming Sunday if anyone has any good ideas for things to serve. I know Thursday is traditionally on Thursday but that's one of the few days this year I DON'T have off so I'm going to have to improvise. Any help would be appreciated. ;-)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Got 'Em
Got my tickets to the Dave Matthews show. I didn't think it would be hard to get tickets, but I had to settle for getting just 2 tickets at 9:05am when tickets went on sale at 9:00am. By 9:30am you couldn't even get a single ticket. That's crazy. The seats are in the upper balcony, but since the place only seats a couple of thousand (it's mostly used for boxing, I've been told) they should still be pretty good.
I have in my possession a bottle of Poitin (aka Potcheen, Poteen, etc...) for the first time ever. What exactly is that, you may ask? It's an Irish Moonshine. The bottle I've got is only 70% alcohol. Yes - 'ONLY' 70% because they do make it 100% strong. It's not advised you drink it when it's that strong though. It's been said it will burn the hair off you when it's that strong, so I can't imagine what it would do to your insides. The guy who makes the one I've got actually won't sell it to anyone unless he's sure they're only using it for rubbing on the muscles of horses and greyhounds. It's THAT strong. Apparently it works to relieve pain in sore muscles.
From what I've been told, it drinks a bit like vodka - you mix it with juices or lemon-lime soda for the best mixers. It's also good for spiking punch at parties, as a few very funny stories have shown. It's a bit of a miracle cure according to some people. As I was handed the bottle I was told to keep a bit in my medicine cabinet and when somebody comes down with the flu you can put a bit in a glass, add a bit of hot water, dissolve a teaspoon or two of honey in it and sip away. One cup of that before bedtime and a person will wake up feeling newly reborn! Probably a bit of an old wife's tale, but it seems to work for people around here.
It's slightly sunny out today but quite cold for Ireland. It's not supposed to get out of the 30's today and they've got warnings out that the roads might get a bit icy this evening and tonight. I don't think it's that cold, but having gone to CU that's not so surprising. My hair used to turn into icicles on the way to class if I didn't have time to blow dry. Seriously. I'm not too worried though. Even if it DID get that cold out I'm pretty sure one good sip of Poitin would have me feeling all sorts of fuzzy and warm! ;-)
I have in my possession a bottle of Poitin (aka Potcheen, Poteen, etc...) for the first time ever. What exactly is that, you may ask? It's an Irish Moonshine. The bottle I've got is only 70% alcohol. Yes - 'ONLY' 70% because they do make it 100% strong. It's not advised you drink it when it's that strong though. It's been said it will burn the hair off you when it's that strong, so I can't imagine what it would do to your insides. The guy who makes the one I've got actually won't sell it to anyone unless he's sure they're only using it for rubbing on the muscles of horses and greyhounds. It's THAT strong. Apparently it works to relieve pain in sore muscles.
From what I've been told, it drinks a bit like vodka - you mix it with juices or lemon-lime soda for the best mixers. It's also good for spiking punch at parties, as a few very funny stories have shown. It's a bit of a miracle cure according to some people. As I was handed the bottle I was told to keep a bit in my medicine cabinet and when somebody comes down with the flu you can put a bit in a glass, add a bit of hot water, dissolve a teaspoon or two of honey in it and sip away. One cup of that before bedtime and a person will wake up feeling newly reborn! Probably a bit of an old wife's tale, but it seems to work for people around here.
It's slightly sunny out today but quite cold for Ireland. It's not supposed to get out of the 30's today and they've got warnings out that the roads might get a bit icy this evening and tonight. I don't think it's that cold, but having gone to CU that's not so surprising. My hair used to turn into icicles on the way to class if I didn't have time to blow dry. Seriously. I'm not too worried though. Even if it DID get that cold out I'm pretty sure one good sip of Poitin would have me feeling all sorts of fuzzy and warm! ;-)
Thursday, November 16, 2006
I would still marry him...
I can't believe I forgot to mention Dave!! I know, sounds like a good friend, but really I've never met him. Although in some ways, I guess he could be considered a good friend. He's been through lots of things with me - the good, the bad, the ugly, the fantastic... love, hate... college. I remember sitting with my friends Sara and Nicole and professing our undying love for the man in our dorm up at CU. Who wouldn't love a man with talent like that? Dave Matthews is amazing.
Anyhow - the reason I mention Dave is that he's coming to DUBLIN! How cool is that? My friend Abby sent me the info on the concert or I never would have known about it. I haven't heard a word of it over here and not many people know who he is so I'm hoping it won't be hard to get decent seats. Tickets go onsale tomorrow morning at 9am, so I should know by the time I blog again. Great seats would be a fantastic way to start off the weekend.
I love just chilling out and listening to Dave. There are seriously about a million and one memories that belong with his music. His concerts (and the pre and post activity) were always an adventure at SPAC. I've seen him in Canada too, so this will be country #3. That's kind of fun, now that I think of it. The concert is just him on tour so it should be different for me and I'm still expecting it to be cool. It's Feb 26th if anyone wants to come with me!!! ;-)
Anyhow - the reason I mention Dave is that he's coming to DUBLIN! How cool is that? My friend Abby sent me the info on the concert or I never would have known about it. I haven't heard a word of it over here and not many people know who he is so I'm hoping it won't be hard to get decent seats. Tickets go onsale tomorrow morning at 9am, so I should know by the time I blog again. Great seats would be a fantastic way to start off the weekend.
I love just chilling out and listening to Dave. There are seriously about a million and one memories that belong with his music. His concerts (and the pre and post activity) were always an adventure at SPAC. I've seen him in Canada too, so this will be country #3. That's kind of fun, now that I think of it. The concert is just him on tour so it should be different for me and I'm still expecting it to be cool. It's Feb 26th if anyone wants to come with me!!! ;-)
The color may be penetrating...
I think the blonde highlights are getting to me. I sat down last night and took all of the photos off my camera so I could post some new pics on here. I looked on the disc I burnt them to when I got in and somehow managed to burn all OLD photos on and none of the new. So tomorrow's the day I guess. Oh, well.
I love that my friends and family are good enough to tape my favorite shows at home and send them over to me on VHS. I especially love that my former roommate Kelly DVR's them and when she taped them she left out the commercials and everything! It was sweet. I sat through 3 episodes of Prison Break the other night, two the next night, and one episode of Bones last night. They're all in order and she didn't miss a single one before her VCR blew out.
I was looking online and they have this really cool thing called a Slingbox which allows anyone with a TV and broadband to 'sling' anything they can watch on their TV to anywhere in the world that has a computer and broadband. Unfortunately, I don't qualify because Eircom (the phone company) is slow to get broadband upgraded and we don't get it as far out as we live. It would be great to see some of the new shows people talk about and watch the local news on occasion. Kind of like being at home in my own living room. I even watch the commercials on the tapes my mom sends over sometimes just so I can catch up on news bulletins and the latest products. It's terrible!
I've finally got training tonight. It's going to be cold, but it should be dry. I don't think it's supposed to get out of the 30's here tomorrow. Brrr.... That's cold for Ireland. I never made it to the gym last night. It took me over an hour to get home, which is about twice as long as usual, between the rain and wind and slow traffic. You know it's bad when the Irish radio announcer actually uses the word 'brutal' to describe the weather. Is it summer yet? ;-)
I love that my friends and family are good enough to tape my favorite shows at home and send them over to me on VHS. I especially love that my former roommate Kelly DVR's them and when she taped them she left out the commercials and everything! It was sweet. I sat through 3 episodes of Prison Break the other night, two the next night, and one episode of Bones last night. They're all in order and she didn't miss a single one before her VCR blew out.
I was looking online and they have this really cool thing called a Slingbox which allows anyone with a TV and broadband to 'sling' anything they can watch on their TV to anywhere in the world that has a computer and broadband. Unfortunately, I don't qualify because Eircom (the phone company) is slow to get broadband upgraded and we don't get it as far out as we live. It would be great to see some of the new shows people talk about and watch the local news on occasion. Kind of like being at home in my own living room. I even watch the commercials on the tapes my mom sends over sometimes just so I can catch up on news bulletins and the latest products. It's terrible!
I've finally got training tonight. It's going to be cold, but it should be dry. I don't think it's supposed to get out of the 30's here tomorrow. Brrr.... That's cold for Ireland. I never made it to the gym last night. It took me over an hour to get home, which is about twice as long as usual, between the rain and wind and slow traffic. You know it's bad when the Irish radio announcer actually uses the word 'brutal' to describe the weather. Is it summer yet? ;-)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Great Weather
For ducks. Yet again thankful that I work on top of a hill. :-) One of these days our trailer/office is just going to float down it like a white water river raft. I can feel it.
The photo above arrived in my inbox while I was at home on vacation. I just saw it again today and decided to post it because it makes me smile every time I see it. If it didn't make you smile, take a look again and concentrate on the left side of the frog pond. That's little Cadence Ann and she's just as cute as her mommy, Jess! I figured after the pretty depressing posts I've had, I'd add something kind of cheery. But the cuteness doesn't stop there.
My friend Crystal also sent pics of her little ones over. These two are Emma and Ben. Emma's a big fan of Shrek (that's her watch over-and-over-and-over again movie). Lucky for Crystal and Jamie there's a Shrek 2 - at least now they only have to watch each one half as much. I remember watching Babes in Toyland about a million times when my sister Shaine was little. And there was Beauty and the Beast. I know every line of that movie. Thanks, Shaine. Sorry to load up on the baby pics but they make me smile and smiling I am.
There doing an 'Emergency Response Joint Exercise' here today. Kind of like when they do a 'test of the Emergency Broadcast System' but instead of closing down your favorite radio program, they're closing down all of the roads in the area and re-evaluating evacuation routes and other emergency items. That's supposed to be happening from 4-5pm this afternoon. I say 'supposed to' because everything in Ireland runs a little slowly and since I'm supposed to leave at 5.15pm I just know it will run late. Nobody is allowed on or off site during the exercise.
Safety is pretty big here. I work at a pharmaceutical place with loads of chemicals, corrosives, and explosives. Sounds safe, eh? Everyone here has to wear safety glasses at all times, unless they are in a designated office space. That includes everywhere from production areas to sidewalks. Can't walk between buildings without your glasses. It's crazy but the norm here.
It's a pretty big campus. It's a good 10 minute walk downhill from my office to the front gate. Any time a smoke alarm or heat sensor goes off this ear piercing alarm goes off and the whole campus has to evacuate. Hundreds of people out the front gate and to their designated meeting points along the sidewalk to do a roll call. If you've been paying any attention to my weather bits on this blog, that's something you especially want to avoid this time of year. We've done 2 this week. Luckily the one last night was at 5:15 so we just went home. Let's hope there isn't another one today!
I'm thinking of hitting the gym tonight. I haven't been in a while but I figure 3 nights of training and 2 matches a week is doing pretty well. Things have been cancelled left and right (including training tonight) so I thought I'd check out the new gym in Courtown. They've got a cool pool area with a lap pool, kids' play area, big twisty slide, sauna, steam room, and hot tub. I've been to the pool but the gym was being renovated and was supposed to re-open at the end of last month. All new equipment would be nice to check out. It's a summer resort and pretty quiet in the winter so it shouldn't be crowded. I'm looking forward to a good workout anyhow. Hopefully they'll have TV's so I don't get too bored staring at the wall. Wish me luck getting there! ;-)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
This is getting rediculous...
Not to mention incredibly sad. I'm sorry to say I'm going to start my blog off on a sad note again but I want people reading to realize what a big problem this is over here. The fact that I've had two posts in less than a week regarding suicide is a bit alarming to even myself. The latest was a 15 year old boy on Saturday who apparently had a fight with a family member and decided that ending his life was the best way to deal with it. His sister plays Gaelic Football with me, which is why the match was cancelled on Sunday. I found out shortly after my post yesterday.
They're holding the funeral today and I would normally be going with the rest of my team (who went as a group wearing their GAA jackets) but we already lost half of our small work crew to the funeral and somebody has to stay on site. I don't mind as I had never met him and the guys missing were all school mates and neighbors. I'm just so sad for the family.
It's weird because although you hear general radio announcements when they're trying to raise money for the crisis hotline, you don't see much else about it. As an American friend of mine pointed out - why aren't they papering the town with crisis hotline numbers? Why aren't they holding forums to discuss what might be happening? Where are the public speakers to address the kids at school and discuss what's going on with them?
I can only imagine that if something like 2 suicides in one week happened in my home town, there would be psychologists and counselors running rampant in the schools and board meetings and PTA meetings and every other kind of meeting going on trying to prevent the next one from happening. From what I can tell from listening to people talk and listening to news radio in the evenings, it's a topic people don't like to discuss - it's 'swept under the rug' like a lot of issues here. Suicide, sex-ed, child abuse, underage smoking/drugs... Maybe if we ignore it, it will go away? Don't get me wrong. They're making progress, but having come from someplace where we finally have so many of those issues out in the open and where real progress is being made to deal with things like that, it's tough to watch.
On a less dreary note, I've planned a completely touristy trip for this weekend. Blarney. Yep - Home of the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Will I kiss it? I'd like to say no because the idea is kind of gross, but everyone I've ever known who says no (even my sister Shaine) ends up going and kissing the damn thing anyhow. So yes, I will probably kiss the stone that millions of people have gone and kissed. Did you know they hang you upside down to do it? There's a guy who holds on to you as you tip back and kiss it. Blogger is being a major pain in the toukas today and won't let me upload the pic of my mom kissing it this summer. Maybe later...
So I'm looking forward to the trip because I promised myself I would do lots of touristy things while I'm here and I've been a bum about it for the most part. I'm just hoping they don't reschedule the Gaelic match for this weekend. Guess I'll have to wait and see. ;-)
They're holding the funeral today and I would normally be going with the rest of my team (who went as a group wearing their GAA jackets) but we already lost half of our small work crew to the funeral and somebody has to stay on site. I don't mind as I had never met him and the guys missing were all school mates and neighbors. I'm just so sad for the family.
It's weird because although you hear general radio announcements when they're trying to raise money for the crisis hotline, you don't see much else about it. As an American friend of mine pointed out - why aren't they papering the town with crisis hotline numbers? Why aren't they holding forums to discuss what might be happening? Where are the public speakers to address the kids at school and discuss what's going on with them?
I can only imagine that if something like 2 suicides in one week happened in my home town, there would be psychologists and counselors running rampant in the schools and board meetings and PTA meetings and every other kind of meeting going on trying to prevent the next one from happening. From what I can tell from listening to people talk and listening to news radio in the evenings, it's a topic people don't like to discuss - it's 'swept under the rug' like a lot of issues here. Suicide, sex-ed, child abuse, underage smoking/drugs... Maybe if we ignore it, it will go away? Don't get me wrong. They're making progress, but having come from someplace where we finally have so many of those issues out in the open and where real progress is being made to deal with things like that, it's tough to watch.
On a less dreary note, I've planned a completely touristy trip for this weekend. Blarney. Yep - Home of the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Will I kiss it? I'd like to say no because the idea is kind of gross, but everyone I've ever known who says no (even my sister Shaine) ends up going and kissing the damn thing anyhow. So yes, I will probably kiss the stone that millions of people have gone and kissed. Did you know they hang you upside down to do it? There's a guy who holds on to you as you tip back and kiss it. Blogger is being a major pain in the toukas today and won't let me upload the pic of my mom kissing it this summer. Maybe later...
So I'm looking forward to the trip because I promised myself I would do lots of touristy things while I'm here and I've been a bum about it for the most part. I'm just hoping they don't reschedule the Gaelic match for this weekend. Guess I'll have to wait and see. ;-)
Monday, November 13, 2006
To Be or Not to Be...
I guess playing any matches this past weekend was not to be. Gaelic and soccer were both cancelled without much of an explanation on either account, so I guess I'll just have to wait until the next training sessions to find out what happened. It was kind of odd that they cancelled Gaelic though, since it was a semi-final match and had been scheduled for weeks.
I'm not really complaining because I hosted a Halloween party on Saturday night and was feeling anything but 100% yesterday and was not really in the mood the be running around a pitch chasing a ball. My better-late-than-never Halloween party was a pretty big hit. I even had one guest who had NEVER dressed up in 'fancy dress', which is what they call costumes over here. Never dressed up??? I never MISS a chance to dress up (hence the REALLY late Halloween party).
I've had better hostessing nights, in all honesty. I was so busy cooking that I forgot to eat before the party and was only 4 drinks into the evening (granted, they were 4 pretty stiff Captain and Cokes) before I became a bit too drunk for my stomach's own good. I ended up retiring earlier than I would have liked with a not-so-nice feeling in my tummy. Note to self - remember to eat some of the yummy food while cooking instead of munching on the veggie platter. I'll post a pic or two once I get them downloaded off my camera.
I'm very excited about having booked my sister Shaine's plane ticket to come visit. She hasn't been over to see me yet and we didn't get to spend nearly enough time together while I was home, so I'm really looking forward to her coming over for a week around the New Year. The very cool part is that since I'm working in Ireland, I only have to work fro 3 days in the two weeks that Christmas and New Year fall in. Yeah!!!!
It's Monday and it's pretty busy here so I have to cut this post short, but I didn't want to leave it too many days without something new. I apologize for the lack of pics in my posts lately. I'll try to get the latest off my camera and up online tonight. ;-)
I'm not really complaining because I hosted a Halloween party on Saturday night and was feeling anything but 100% yesterday and was not really in the mood the be running around a pitch chasing a ball. My better-late-than-never Halloween party was a pretty big hit. I even had one guest who had NEVER dressed up in 'fancy dress', which is what they call costumes over here. Never dressed up??? I never MISS a chance to dress up (hence the REALLY late Halloween party).
I've had better hostessing nights, in all honesty. I was so busy cooking that I forgot to eat before the party and was only 4 drinks into the evening (granted, they were 4 pretty stiff Captain and Cokes) before I became a bit too drunk for my stomach's own good. I ended up retiring earlier than I would have liked with a not-so-nice feeling in my tummy. Note to self - remember to eat some of the yummy food while cooking instead of munching on the veggie platter. I'll post a pic or two once I get them downloaded off my camera.
I'm very excited about having booked my sister Shaine's plane ticket to come visit. She hasn't been over to see me yet and we didn't get to spend nearly enough time together while I was home, so I'm really looking forward to her coming over for a week around the New Year. The very cool part is that since I'm working in Ireland, I only have to work fro 3 days in the two weeks that Christmas and New Year fall in. Yeah!!!!
It's Monday and it's pretty busy here so I have to cut this post short, but I didn't want to leave it too many days without something new. I apologize for the lack of pics in my posts lately. I'll try to get the latest off my camera and up online tonight. ;-)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Tragedy and Tears
It's been a fairly sad week since I've been back from the States. It seems that all anyone has been doing is going to wakes and funerals. A funeral in Ireland is an event in itself, so to be swamped with more than one in a week can be a lot to handle. One woman I know had to attend 5 this week. I don't know if it's the dreary weather or the cold or what - but I hardly remember more than one or two funerals happening all summer long.
Most of the funerals have been members of an older generation, most of whom had been sick for a long while and passed on peacefully, surrounded by loved ones who had a chance to say goodbye. Although these funerals are still sad and the people are sorely missed, they seem to offer a chance for people to remember and celebrate the lives of the deceased.
There was one funeral this week that marked the unexpected death of a young member of the community who was only 24 years old. He owned his own plumbing business, had a caring family, and an established relationship with a young local girl. He had been missing for about 5 days before a woman from a local rural area found his van while out walking one afternoon. She reported it to the local Guardai (police) and they discovered that the young man was inside, having rigged his exhaust to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The community was shocked. Nobody had seen it coming and hardly anyone could understand it. I had never met the chap so I didn't attend the funeral but it was a large one, full of grieving friends and family members trying to make some sense of the situation.
It's a shame to hear so many similar stories in the news and throught he community each week. Ireland has the fifth highest rate of suicide in the 15-24 year old age group and it has quickly become the leading cause of death in that age group. It's become so alarming that the government has been quick to develop Suicide Prevention plans and task forces. They want to make people aware that there are ways to deal with depression and that there is help out there.
I know that there are a good number of suicides in the States each year but I don't remember hearing about them nearly as much as I do over here. I don't know if that's because I have been fortunate enough to not have suicide touch my life directly or if it's because the communities are so much closer over here. It provides for a nasty rumor mill at times, but it also provides a lot of support for family and friends when they go through a crisis like being affected by suicide.
I know this has been a bit of a downer of a post, but it's been a pretty widely discussed topic this week, both on the news and in the local community. It's not something you'd probably hear about at home, so I thought I'd share a bit of the darker side of Ireland.
I'll try to think of something super cheerful to post about tomorrow. Promise! ;-)
Most of the funerals have been members of an older generation, most of whom had been sick for a long while and passed on peacefully, surrounded by loved ones who had a chance to say goodbye. Although these funerals are still sad and the people are sorely missed, they seem to offer a chance for people to remember and celebrate the lives of the deceased.
There was one funeral this week that marked the unexpected death of a young member of the community who was only 24 years old. He owned his own plumbing business, had a caring family, and an established relationship with a young local girl. He had been missing for about 5 days before a woman from a local rural area found his van while out walking one afternoon. She reported it to the local Guardai (police) and they discovered that the young man was inside, having rigged his exhaust to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. The community was shocked. Nobody had seen it coming and hardly anyone could understand it. I had never met the chap so I didn't attend the funeral but it was a large one, full of grieving friends and family members trying to make some sense of the situation.
It's a shame to hear so many similar stories in the news and throught he community each week. Ireland has the fifth highest rate of suicide in the 15-24 year old age group and it has quickly become the leading cause of death in that age group. It's become so alarming that the government has been quick to develop Suicide Prevention plans and task forces. They want to make people aware that there are ways to deal with depression and that there is help out there.
I know that there are a good number of suicides in the States each year but I don't remember hearing about them nearly as much as I do over here. I don't know if that's because I have been fortunate enough to not have suicide touch my life directly or if it's because the communities are so much closer over here. It provides for a nasty rumor mill at times, but it also provides a lot of support for family and friends when they go through a crisis like being affected by suicide.
I know this has been a bit of a downer of a post, but it's been a pretty widely discussed topic this week, both on the news and in the local community. It's not something you'd probably hear about at home, so I thought I'd share a bit of the darker side of Ireland.
I'll try to think of something super cheerful to post about tomorrow. Promise! ;-)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Block vs. Timber
Last night was my first night back at training in a few weeks. It wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting, but I could tell it had been a while since I had worked out. I finally broke the crazy jetlag pattern and was asleep at 10:30pm and slept all the way through the night. It felt fantastic. What didn't feel fantastic was waking up to a freezing cold house. The heating system doesn't have a thermostat, but it does have an auto clock timer. I had it set to turn on about an hour before I had to get up but for some reason the clock was running slow and it never did. There's nothing like getting out of a nice warm bed and putting your tootsies on a cold laminate floor. I have SERIOUSLY got to find a carpet for that room - even slippers don't completely kill the cold.
I was watching a program last night on timber frame construction. That's what they call building houses out of wood over here. It's a new idea, so far as I can tell. The tradional method for residential construction is to use cinder blocks (remember those things you used to prop your bed up on in college?) to build cavity wall style houses. It's kind of hard to explain without drawing a sketch but it's basically a whole house made out of concrete and cinder blocks. The exterior and interior walls are block and the floor is concrete.
I have multiple issues with this method of construction. First of all - it's a pain in the ass to hang anything on the wall. You can get special little hangers that pin into the plaster and block, but you can't take them off without a three inch hole of plaster coming with it. Not quite fixable with the old tube of toothpaste. Anybody who knows me knows how much I love photos and I have a whole pile of them sitting in frames in the living room because the landlord doesn't want too many holes in the wall.
I'm also not a big fan of the crazy cold floors. There's just something about concrete floors, even with laminate flooring, that is just cold and hard. I just don't like it. The block houses are also harder to heat and remodeling is a big no-no. It's way too much work. You can't just move walls around and throw in windows like you would in a timber frame house. There's cutting block, and placing lintels, and patching block, and replastering. Way too much work for most people.
The big argument from anti-timber people seems to be that they won't hold up in the weather or they won't last as long. I don't know about that. There's some pretty nasty weather in the northeast and there are plenty of old farmhouses that are hundreds of years old where I grew up. With the quality of today's building materials and treated woods, I can't see where that argument would hold up. Besides - who really wants a house that will last forever? You're eventually going to want to demo it and building in block would just make it ten times harder!
Yes, I know I'm a construction geek in today's post. I can't help it though. I miss the coziness of houses built out of wood. They remind me of home. There's actually a family somewhere in Ireland who imported a log home from the U.S. They went online, found a plan they liked, contacted the company and had the whole thing shipped over. They even sent a representative to supervise the construction. I thought that was a pretty cool story. I read about it in one of my construction magazines.
And to think I didn't have anything to write about when I started typing. I suppose construction is an easy enough topic for me though. Speaking of - lunch is over and I've got work to do before I have to leave for training. I hope it tires me out as much as last night so I get another good night of sleep!! ;-)
I was watching a program last night on timber frame construction. That's what they call building houses out of wood over here. It's a new idea, so far as I can tell. The tradional method for residential construction is to use cinder blocks (remember those things you used to prop your bed up on in college?) to build cavity wall style houses. It's kind of hard to explain without drawing a sketch but it's basically a whole house made out of concrete and cinder blocks. The exterior and interior walls are block and the floor is concrete.
I have multiple issues with this method of construction. First of all - it's a pain in the ass to hang anything on the wall. You can get special little hangers that pin into the plaster and block, but you can't take them off without a three inch hole of plaster coming with it. Not quite fixable with the old tube of toothpaste. Anybody who knows me knows how much I love photos and I have a whole pile of them sitting in frames in the living room because the landlord doesn't want too many holes in the wall.
I'm also not a big fan of the crazy cold floors. There's just something about concrete floors, even with laminate flooring, that is just cold and hard. I just don't like it. The block houses are also harder to heat and remodeling is a big no-no. It's way too much work. You can't just move walls around and throw in windows like you would in a timber frame house. There's cutting block, and placing lintels, and patching block, and replastering. Way too much work for most people.
The big argument from anti-timber people seems to be that they won't hold up in the weather or they won't last as long. I don't know about that. There's some pretty nasty weather in the northeast and there are plenty of old farmhouses that are hundreds of years old where I grew up. With the quality of today's building materials and treated woods, I can't see where that argument would hold up. Besides - who really wants a house that will last forever? You're eventually going to want to demo it and building in block would just make it ten times harder!
Yes, I know I'm a construction geek in today's post. I can't help it though. I miss the coziness of houses built out of wood. They remind me of home. There's actually a family somewhere in Ireland who imported a log home from the U.S. They went online, found a plan they liked, contacted the company and had the whole thing shipped over. They even sent a representative to supervise the construction. I thought that was a pretty cool story. I read about it in one of my construction magazines.
And to think I didn't have anything to write about when I started typing. I suppose construction is an easy enough topic for me though. Speaking of - lunch is over and I've got work to do before I have to leave for training. I hope it tires me out as much as last night so I get another good night of sleep!! ;-)
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
48 Days Until Christmas
No, I'm not being a crazy Christmas fanatic. It's a countdown they do every day on the morning show I listen to. It feels like they were announcing 100 days until Christmas just the other day... Anyhow - it's a little different over here for the start of the Christmas season because they don't have the definitive cut-off point of Thanksgiving as the start-up for the decorating and lights and music. If you walk into certain department stores now, not only are they all decorated but they've got songs like 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and 'Jingle Bell Rock' playing!
Come on, people! I haven't even had my Halloween party yet! I know I'm a little late, but my recent vacation to the States caused me to miss both weekends right around Halloween and it's got to be pushed out to this weekend. I am NOT missing a year of dressing up even if people in Ireland don't get as excited as I do about it.
Halloween isn't as big a deal here as it is in the U.S. People aren't big into theme parties and dressing up, in general. I feel like I went to at least 3 theme parties a year when I was home, whether they were Halloween, 70's, pimps & ho's, etc... You'd think people would enjoy the break from pint after pint at the local pub. House parties in general just aren't as popular here. I think it may be because the houses aren't as spacious as they are at home, so it's much easier to just book a place for a party. The size of most families around here would let you fill a party hall or event room with no problem...
I'm going to brave having everyone over to our place on Saturday. I've got decorations and I've been working on the food list. If anyone has any good Halloween recipes feel free to share them. I've also got most of a costume. I'm wearing my nurse's uniform but I can't find my white pumps anywhere! We even ripped apart all of my storage boxes at home. I tried in vain to find a pair in the stores at home (way out of season by now) but I'm hoping I'll have a little more luck here, if I can get to a store before they all shut in the evenings. I've seen women wearing Ugg boots in August, so I'm guessing there isn't a 'off-season' in Ireland.
Another funny note on the food for the party - I make a lot of dips and dishes with sour cream for parties (onion dip and chips, veggie dip for the veggie platter, spinach dip with bread). Most stores in Ireland stock shelves early in the week and sour cream just isn't a very popular food so what they stock is what you get for the week. I know this because I've tried to find sour cream on Fridays before. Anyhow, I saw they had 6 things of it left and so I bought them to use this weekend. It's SO rare for people to use it that the girl at the checkout actually asked me what I use it for because she'd heard of it but never knew anyone to buy it. She thought it very strange to suggest putting it on baked potatoes or tacos. Another 'weird' thing I eat as an American. I'm just glad they sell it over here. My beef stroganoff just wouldn't be the same without it!
So if you have any ideas on fun foods for Halloween feel free to send them my way. Until next time... ;-)
Come on, people! I haven't even had my Halloween party yet! I know I'm a little late, but my recent vacation to the States caused me to miss both weekends right around Halloween and it's got to be pushed out to this weekend. I am NOT missing a year of dressing up even if people in Ireland don't get as excited as I do about it.
Halloween isn't as big a deal here as it is in the U.S. People aren't big into theme parties and dressing up, in general. I feel like I went to at least 3 theme parties a year when I was home, whether they were Halloween, 70's, pimps & ho's, etc... You'd think people would enjoy the break from pint after pint at the local pub. House parties in general just aren't as popular here. I think it may be because the houses aren't as spacious as they are at home, so it's much easier to just book a place for a party. The size of most families around here would let you fill a party hall or event room with no problem...
I'm going to brave having everyone over to our place on Saturday. I've got decorations and I've been working on the food list. If anyone has any good Halloween recipes feel free to share them. I've also got most of a costume. I'm wearing my nurse's uniform but I can't find my white pumps anywhere! We even ripped apart all of my storage boxes at home. I tried in vain to find a pair in the stores at home (way out of season by now) but I'm hoping I'll have a little more luck here, if I can get to a store before they all shut in the evenings. I've seen women wearing Ugg boots in August, so I'm guessing there isn't a 'off-season' in Ireland.
Another funny note on the food for the party - I make a lot of dips and dishes with sour cream for parties (onion dip and chips, veggie dip for the veggie platter, spinach dip with bread). Most stores in Ireland stock shelves early in the week and sour cream just isn't a very popular food so what they stock is what you get for the week. I know this because I've tried to find sour cream on Fridays before. Anyhow, I saw they had 6 things of it left and so I bought them to use this weekend. It's SO rare for people to use it that the girl at the checkout actually asked me what I use it for because she'd heard of it but never knew anyone to buy it. She thought it very strange to suggest putting it on baked potatoes or tacos. Another 'weird' thing I eat as an American. I'm just glad they sell it over here. My beef stroganoff just wouldn't be the same without it!
So if you have any ideas on fun foods for Halloween feel free to send them my way. Until next time... ;-)
Monday, November 06, 2006
Back Again
There's really nothing like the first day back at work after a vacation to make you wish you could win the lottery! I'm beat. I've been hit by jet lag both ways. It's SO much easier traveling west to east. I don't think I've ever really been jet lagged going in the other direction. My body misses that!
My trip home was great. My mom and dad both took Tuesday and Thursday off and were around when I left on Friday, so I was able to spend loads of time with them. My credit card company is loving me for all of the shopping I did while I was home, but looking back - most of it really was stuff I needed (new running shoes, new soccer cleats, new waterproof winter boots) that were so much cheaper at home. I put off getting any of that stuff until I got home so it just LOOKED like I spent a lot more because it was all in one little time span (at least that's what I keep telling myself!) A few of the 'wants' as opposed to 'needs' were the multiple bottles of Captain Morgan I stocked up on in Duty Free (can't find it in Ireland), a pair of cool suede boots, and a couple of cute tops. At least it's done now. I don't think I'll allow myself to buy anything new until I go home again next time though!
Some highlights of my trip (in no particular order):
- Getting to hang with my sister Shaine. She's got some cool new highlights as a result of my trip home - wish she hadn't had to work as much though.
- Eating lots of yummy chicken wings! I think I had my fill while I was home... I ate them just about every other day if my memory serves me correctly.
- Seeing my friend Andrea from high school. She managed to get a free pass from her husband and kids and came over to help me drink lots of wine on Wed. night. It was tons of fun to catch up and she even had her mom pick her up like when we were in middle school! :-)
- Getting to meet baby Ben and play with Emma! It was so great to spend so much time with Crystal, Jamie, and the kids. I miss them when I'm away...
- Seeing Kelly and getting to have her as my roommate for a few days again. I just wish it hadn't been so busy.
- Hanging out with the Boston crowd and catching up with my cousin Alex again!
- Seeing snow! I took a picture since I wasn't sure I'd even get to see any this year. Everything was covered in snow when I woke up at 5am one morning so I went downstairs and took photos. Good thing because it was almost all melted by the time I woke up for breakfast!
It was eventful and busy and I feel like I need another vacation (known as 'holidays' over here) to recover. For now I'll have to settle for going to get something to eat. My body hates me - it thinks I should be eating supper and all I gave it was a cereal bar (no milk for regular stuff) for breakfast so far today! I promise to be a bit better about blogging now that I'm back! ;-)
My trip home was great. My mom and dad both took Tuesday and Thursday off and were around when I left on Friday, so I was able to spend loads of time with them. My credit card company is loving me for all of the shopping I did while I was home, but looking back - most of it really was stuff I needed (new running shoes, new soccer cleats, new waterproof winter boots) that were so much cheaper at home. I put off getting any of that stuff until I got home so it just LOOKED like I spent a lot more because it was all in one little time span (at least that's what I keep telling myself!) A few of the 'wants' as opposed to 'needs' were the multiple bottles of Captain Morgan I stocked up on in Duty Free (can't find it in Ireland), a pair of cool suede boots, and a couple of cute tops. At least it's done now. I don't think I'll allow myself to buy anything new until I go home again next time though!
Some highlights of my trip (in no particular order):
- Getting to hang with my sister Shaine. She's got some cool new highlights as a result of my trip home - wish she hadn't had to work as much though.
- Eating lots of yummy chicken wings! I think I had my fill while I was home... I ate them just about every other day if my memory serves me correctly.
- Seeing my friend Andrea from high school. She managed to get a free pass from her husband and kids and came over to help me drink lots of wine on Wed. night. It was tons of fun to catch up and she even had her mom pick her up like when we were in middle school! :-)
- Getting to meet baby Ben and play with Emma! It was so great to spend so much time with Crystal, Jamie, and the kids. I miss them when I'm away...
- Seeing Kelly and getting to have her as my roommate for a few days again. I just wish it hadn't been so busy.
- Hanging out with the Boston crowd and catching up with my cousin Alex again!
- Seeing snow! I took a picture since I wasn't sure I'd even get to see any this year. Everything was covered in snow when I woke up at 5am one morning so I went downstairs and took photos. Good thing because it was almost all melted by the time I woke up for breakfast!
It was eventful and busy and I feel like I need another vacation (known as 'holidays' over here) to recover. For now I'll have to settle for going to get something to eat. My body hates me - it thinks I should be eating supper and all I gave it was a cereal bar (no milk for regular stuff) for breakfast so far today! I promise to be a bit better about blogging now that I'm back! ;-)
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